Is attending community college and transferring considered an acceptable option?

[polarscribe]

In the real world, there is zero "disdain" for community colleges.

chaosakita, "college life" as defined by dorms, bars and frats is seriously overrated. Never did it, don't miss it a bit. It's right for some people, not for others.

College life defined by academics can be found at community colleges, perhaps better even than the flagships for lower-division students. I never had a class with more than 50 students at the CC I attended, and I knew every professor by name. No grad students or anonymous faces at the bottom of a 500-seat lecture hall. Your classmates are a diverse mix, like the real world: some older, some younger, ethnically and socially mixed. Not a room full of 19-year-olds with rich parents, a social situation you will never again encounter in life.

And to clarify an earlier point, yes, there are specific and distinct advantages to being a CC transfer student in California - the majority of UC transfer slots are reserved exclusively for CC students, under the Master Plan for Higher Education.

[poetgrl]

Around here, suburb of a major city, we have a glut of PhDs and whatnot, and the teachers at the community colleges are quite good, actually. I have taken Italian at our closest one, recently, and enjoyed it quite a bit. There is a good articulation agreement, too, and the kids who have an AA or AS from the CC's around here can, and do, go to the flagship and other directional U's.

There's actually a ranking of these CC's somewhere. ours is quite high.

Either way, there's no reason not to go to community college if it is the best option for you, for any reason at all.

I think it's a really great option, one of the really great, functional elements of our higher educational system. JMO

[SteveMA]

great lakes mom--I think you are correct about the perception of CC's outside of CA, especially in the midwest. I think what you have to understand, however, is that at one time the CA CC system was free, or next to free so everyone went to CC first. That makes a big difference in the value one would get out of a CC. Up until the post-secondary options/dual enrollment you see offered in most states these days, CC were just that, community colleges/vo-tech schools and it was a place to get a "certificate" not a degree. It isn't good or bad, just different and in an area of the country where most kids go on to college, 4 year college, they just don't have the desire to get a "certificate". It is a great option for those that want to go that route however. Also, with the generous aid seen in many, many schools in the midwest, it often isn't much more expensive to go to a 4 year school than it would be to commute to a CC when all is said and done. Also, up until a couple years ago, most 4 year schools accepted very few CC credits so taking "gen ed's" at a CC was a waste of time.

[polarscribe]

California CCs are still next to free, effectively. There is a $42 per unit fee, and that's it, for any California resident.

Not $12 a unit like when I graduated from Contra Costa College in 2007, but still ridiculously cheap.

[SteveMA]

polarscribe-I disagree with "in the real world there is no disdain for CC". In the real world around here it is looked down upon if you are going to a CC vs a 4 year school and you are put at a disadvantage coming out of college for jobs, especially in areas like nursing where you could get a 2 year or a 4 year degree. The nurses that go the 2 year route are rarely hired for the higher paying jobs in hospitals and clinics and are usually only offered jobs in nursing homes. It's great if that is where you want to work but the salary difference between a nursing home nurse and a hospital nurse is quite different (double or more in a hospital). Certain fields it can be a huge hindrance if you start in a CC vs a 4 year school, med school, law school, etc. Sure, some kids can get into these after attending a CC but they are the exception rather than the rule. If you go to the med school boards on various sites, a common theme is rejections because of gen eds done at a CC.

[ordinarylives]

Steve has a point. Our local cc used to be just a tech school. In fact, when my brother went to school, he left the state so that he could get an associate's in his program instead of just a certificate. (How about that, going out of state to a cc?)

[kathiep]

The CC's closest to me have articulation agreements with many colleges, privates and publics. They clearly spells out what majors or courses will transfer and these colleges are quite popular. Here's one of the CC's info page: Articulation Agreements by Major You'll note that they have an agreements with Lafayette, Lehigh and Dickinson, which are generally acknowledged to be very good Universities. This particular CC also has on campus housing.

[kpgriswold]

A young friend of mine transferred from CC to Brown. Having graduated, she is now a Fulbright Scholar overseas. Community college worked out well for her.

However, one thing that I have been warned about here on the forums is that financial aid is less likely and less generous for transfers than for freshmen. If you want to move from a CC to a top tier school, you may have to pay alot.

Oh wait, here's a quote from above about that very issue!

I paid for my first two years of school out of pocket because it was cheap, but then was ineligible for the vast majority of the readily available scholarships out there-- there are not anywhere near as many for transfer students as there are for incoming freshmen, and many you only even qualify for as a freshman. So I paid for my last two years entirely with loans...

[polarscribe]

Steve, your argument is a strawman.

A nurse with a two-year degree has significantly less education than a nurse with a four-year degree. Stands to reason they would make less money, or be in different jobs.

That proves nothing about a nurse who started at a community college then transferred to a state flagship to end up with the exact same four-year nursing degree as a student who went there all four years.

Nobody is arguing that two years of education are equivalent to four.

[polarscribe]

The idea that there are tons of scholarships "readily available" is a myth. Ask anyone on the Fin Aid board. If you're good enough to get merit or to get into a full-need school, there's money out there. The vast majority of students aren't.

There is a general lack of money for transfer students, but that's not really CC-specific. Goes for any and all transfers.

[Emaheevul07]

polar, that isn't what I meant by "readily available." I meant that as freshman when you apply to many universities you are automatically considered for a boatload of scholarships, and most of the scholarships opportunities you can get your hands on will be tailored to you as an incoming freshman-- not that it's easy to actually win them. When you're a transfer student those opportunities aren't even there for you to be considered no matter how good your grades are.

Kids who would be good candidates for scholarships out of high school NEED to know that. They may come out in much better shape financially going straight to a 4 year if they can secure scholarships as high school seniors, paying for two years of college with loans STINGS no matter how cheap the first two years were. Nobody ever told my family that! Our high school guidance counselor encouraged all the kids with financial problems to go straight to CC, because "it's exactly the same anyway." Yeah right!

[polarscribe]

There's no guarantee you would have gotten a dime of them. You yourself said you wouldn't have even gotten into the school you attended (Michigan) without your community college record. There's no way UM would have given you a freshman merit scholarship, so you missed nothing.

As I said, if one's record is good enough to qualify for merit awards as a freshman, great, take advantage of that. For most students, that's simply not the case. They won't get anything of substance.

[poetgrl]

There are a lot of really valid reasons to use a CC.

1. financial reasons. It is a generally accepted fact, at this point in time, that college is too expensive.

2. indecision. Not sure you want to continue school, right then, or not sure what you want to study, yet.

3. Family things, where you might need to stay around and help out for a while.

4. Not having matured quickly.

5. Not having figured out how to be a good student until later in high school.

6. To learn a trade.

7. Around here, a lot of professional contuing ed and lisencing classes are taught at the CC's.

8. Because you got a GED, or even to get a GED (around here they offer GED classes and the tests.)

9. Because life is not a straight line path, and the 4 year graduation rate at most colleges really isnt as high as you might think.

We happen to be a full pay family. There are some scholarships out there, but a lot of them are really just "hooks" to get your family to go there and to pay. If I had a child who was indecisive about school, or not in the mood, or unsure, or unready to leave home, I'd encourage this area of exploration.

[polarscribe]

There are some scholarships out there, but a lot of them are really just "hooks" to get your family to go there and to pay.

This is getting a little off-topic, but exactly. It sounds great to have someone tell you "hey, you have earned a $15,000 scholarship" but if the sticker price is $49,000... the average family still can't come close to affording the $34,000 gap.

[MiamiDAP]

"Is attending community college and transferring as a junior to a four year university to complete a bachelor's degree generally considered an acceptable option?"

-Generally? There is no such thing as "generally considered an acceptable option". There is no problem in some circumstances, while it might not be acceptable under others.
Who would care, if one ended up MBA, PhD or just simply BS in CS? It may or may not be OK for Med. School / Law school admission, again depending on many other variables such as where pre-reqs are taken....etc. I myself have graduated from CC, found my first proffessional job in my field (CS), various employers paid for my BS and MBA, with some credits transferred from CC, but it was few decades ago. Is this path OK now, maybe in some areas, in some industries, maybe not in others???. There is no general rule even if you consider just one field of study. BTW, I had no problem finding 9 places of employment in very economically depressed region that has been depressed for decades, not just recently. I have found my first job (after CC) while unemployment rate in my ciry was about 16% and I have just replied to an ad in newspaper. Yes, luck is always very important factor. You can calculate forever, or just take the most feasible path and use all resources available to you and see what happen. If you work hard enough at any palce, success will follow.